Solidarity protests are still needed in support of the Tunisian
demonstrators who were attacked and arrested by the police forces under
the direction of the three-party coalition now governing Tunisia. With
the huge remnants of the old regime still in place, the government is
trying to turn back the clock (See http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/5693)

Amongst the protests that took place internationally, socialistworld.net
reports on the protests in Brussels and London.

Brussels

On 13 April, a delegation from the PSL-LSP (CWI in Belgium) gathered in
front of the Tunisian embassy in Brussels to protest at the recent
vicious police crackdown against peaceful protestors in Tunis. We were
received by M. Farhat, the Tunisian ambassador in Belgium. We told him
about our concerns in relation to the attacks on democratic rights in
Tunisia and the police violence on April 9.

We also reminded him that just one year ago, we were standing together
with the Tunisian community of Belgium in front of the embassy which was
still occupied, at the time, by agents of the old dictator Ben Ali.

We told the ambassador that the Tunisian masses do not want a return to
dictatorship. But the attacks against the UGTT offices, followed by the
repression of the Union of the Unemployed Graduates’ protest, last
Saturday, and then the repression against demonstrators on the Bourguiba
Avenue on April 9, appear be heading in this direction.

The ambassador thanked us for the attention we gave to his country! He
was not in Belgium during December 2010-January 2011, but his colleagues
remembered our protests. The ambassador spoke about the difficulties of
establishing a democratic regime, of restarting the economy etc. He
mentioned a series of dangers, including the attacks by the Salafist
groups against student activists in universities. He implied that
expectations, from the Right, as well as from the Left, were too high
and that the government in Tunisia has to find a ‘happy medium’ to
navigate out the current situation.

Before leaving, we handed a protest letter to the ambassador which is
addressed to the Interior Minister of Tunisia. And we made clear that we
will continue to monitor events in Tunisia, very closely.

London

On 16 April, a delegation went to the Tunisian embassy in London to hand
over a protest letter. The embassy refused to speak with the protesters
and called the police. However the placards and leaflets handed out made
it clear to the embassy staff why the protest was organised.

People passing by were informed about the brutal repression against
demonstrators in Tunisia on Martyr’s Day and later against the Union of
Unemployed Graduates (UDC). Many expressed sympathy with the demand for
an immediate release of all those arrested, without charge, in Tunisia.